Bud and Pokey Trivia Pokey started out as a perfectly
and totally stock 1984 CJ-7 about five years ago. Since then he's been
worked over to the point that the previous owner wouldn't recognize it if he
saw it. Well, the frame and body and 258 block are all that's left. I've
been on quite a few trails with it including Moab, Surprise Canyon, the
Hammers, Rubicon, The Dusy trail, Baja Mexico numerous times, just to name a
few. Most exciting was probably Suprise Canyon although it was just a lesson
in winching for many hours, it left you hanging by your winch for long
periods and disaster could strike at just about any time. With only two
hands and two feet it can get a bit hairy at times working the
winch/brake/throttle/clutch/steering wheel and listening to six spotters all
at once.

Pokey's RollMoab Rim

Pokey's RollMoab Rim

Moab is very beautiful, we loved it there, course I rolled
the Pokester on top of Moab Rim and almost took a long ride down the hard
way. Hahaha!! We still loved the experience though. Of all the places I've
wheeled that has to be the most dangerous because if indeed you do make an
error it could be your last. It adds some excitement to the trails to say
the least. I'd say that it ain't no place to be if you have an inflated ego.
The Dusy is one of my favorites for wheeling and of course it's down right
pretty up there also. The Ruby has the biggest reputation and is a lot of
fun but nowhere near as challenging as some of the others, although it's
more fun as a party trail and for camping than many of the others.

Bud on upgrades I've rolled Pokey and
as they say, it was an opportunity upgrade each time for me. Ha! Not that I
blamed any of the mishaps on the Jeep. They were all my fault in one way or
another and just plain part of the game I suppose. Must be! I'm getting real
good at it. Sort of like getting your nose broke if you're a prize fighter.
If you're gonna keep pushing your personal envelope, you're going to run
into someone or something that will push back. Also it's part of the
wheeling game, and one of the things that make it so much fun IMO. Anyway,
I've managed to restore the beasty thing whenever I happen to get my head to
close to the ground with it, so what the hell!

Shredder Canyon atSantiago's Revenge
Photo by Matt Osburn

Bud's philosophy on wheeling One of the
reasons (if not the main reason) I love to wheel is the people I've met when
either out wheeling, or on the net. It's amazing the friends that I have met
from all walks of life through the Jeep and computer that I might never have
known if not for these two mind boggling machines. I was born before TV so
well, you figure it out!

I've been offroading in one type of truck or another for
many years and thoroughly enjoy every aspect of it. I'm just now starting to
get into the photo and movie end of the sport. Pretty excited about that.
Must be, I've got almost as much cash in the equipment for it as I do in the
Jeep. heh heh! Not! But close!

I've seen many changes in the rigs on the trails in the last
few years. Some very awesome rig's and some very dangerous rigs. Pretty ones
that wheel and ugly ones that can't. As always, the driver seems to make a
pretty tame rig do some miraculous things where as a guy with to much cash
can put an awsome rig together and still manage to get it stuck and look
stupid doing it. This doesn't reflect on anybody I know personally so I
better not get any nasty e-mails about it. heh heh! Or it could! If the
shoe fit's ya know!!

Coming through Buttcrack

Anyway, the way I figure it is that the rig don't
necessarily make the trail easy. Everything has it's limits and some know
how to drive and some don't. Personally I like the ones that don't because
they're much more fun to watch and film. And when some newbie makes it up
some obstacle that looks impossible the look on their face is priceless. Or
when some guy/gal attacks something that they think is nothing and blows it,
they too have some funny faces to show. Hahahaha! I love to see the best of
the best screw it up! It builds character ya know, I mean so I've heard. I
just do whatever comes next and hope I don't roll the frieken Jeep most of
the time. But then I got no ego over the whole thing and never consider
myself better or worse than anyone else so most of the time I'm driving with
my eyes shut. Which is good cuzz I can't see that far anymore anyway.

As I see it the guys having the most fun are the ones that
got no ax to grind. If there's a personality defect in them, it's sure to
surface when the going gets rather nasty. So, as I said, I think the people
are much more fun than either the trail or the truck most of the time. And
of course there's always the fire pit after the run. Ha! That's always a
blast and where you are sure to bring down the wrath of God on yourself if
you managed to screw up during the trail ride that day. Me, I try to
re-direct the stupidity off of myself right off the bat. Hahaha! hey! Why
should I take all that abuse right!!

Bud on the Rubiconby Spider Lake

I don't know what all this has to do with anything but
thanks for listening anyway. Maybe I'll be fortunate enough to run into you
all on the trail someday. If ya see Pokey running down the trail with some
old guy with no hair, no teeth and his eyes shut, it's a good bet it's me so
stop me and say hi. It will only take a couple hours. heh heh!!

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